<p>Midyear reports don’t usually count for that much. They would need to see a trend over the high school years. And even then, those with upward trends aren’t quite as impressive as those who have maintained excellence all along.</p>
<p>But yes, some “D” students do get in. I think they tend to be special cases – for example, development cases, perhaps recruited athletes with real promise, etc. Search collegeboard.com for a school and look at the % students in each GPA range; many have students in the 1- or 2-point range.</p>